[TheForge] Press ?

[Jerry Frost]

Right you are on all, almost, counts.

First and foremost; converting a log splitter to a 
forging press will not make a high end forging press. 
It'll work and fairly well but it'll fall short of what 
a purpose built press will.

How you power it is irrelevant in and of itself so use 
what you like, can afford or neighbors/code allows. 
Spec'ing a hydraulic system is pretty simple and the 
guys at the hyd shop have always been happy to help me.

Converting a splitter vs. building a power hammer being 
a wash time and effort wise? . . . Bovus Scattus! I 
don't know about others here but it'd only take me a 
few hours max to convert a splitter and several days to 
build a hammer.

Given a choice I'd build the hammer, forging press, 
rolls, etc. every time and just rent a splitter when I 
need one.

Lastly, making a splitter convertable falls into the 
same catagory as making any forging tool, hammer, 
press, rolls, etc. with changable dies. You're going to 
make more than one set of dies and make it so you can 
change them out anyway so what's the difference? The 
splitting wedges are just dies, heck, sharpen em up and 
use them as hot cuts.

All that said, I'm not championing the use of log 
splitters as forging presses. I am speaking in favor of 
the ease of making the conversion and the simple fact 
that it will work. There are real drawbacks.

Frosty
-------------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.

http://www.artmetalradio.com/



From: "Dan Brewer" <danqualman at gmail.com>


>A log splitter is just a hydraulic ram pressing on to 
>a wedge.  The ram is
> powered by a pump.  The pump is turned by a motor. 
> The motor can be
> electric or gas.  Northern tool has pumps that are 
> turned by both types of
> motors.  Don't buy a log splitter make the tool you 
> want instead of having a
> poor solution to you problem.  An air hammer will be 
> less trouble to make
> than modifying a log splitter. The only way I would 
> do this is if I had the
> log splitter and had no further use of it in its 
> present form.
>
> Just my 2 cents worth on this thread.
> Dan in Auburn
>